Everything you need to know about Peacock streaming service

Peacock is yet another streaming service jostling in a very crowded area for your subscription dollars. The streaming platform will be managed by NBCUniversal. It takes its name from the stylized peacock logo used by NBC since 1956. Peacock will offer exclusive original shows, former favorites from the NBC archives and feature films produced under the Universal banner. Will this peacock fly in an already overcrowded market?

Launch date and availability

As NBCUniversal belongs to the telecommunications conglomerate Comcast, the Peacock streaming service was launched on April 15 for Xfinity cable subscribers. If you are not a Comcast customer, you will have to wait until July 15 for consumer deployment. The Peacock streaming service will be available through its website, mobile apps, and “popular smart TV platforms,” ​​although they’ve been mom on what platforms they might be.

Pricing structure

Note: As of this writing, Peacock is only available to consumers in the United States. NBCUniversal has not announced plans to make Peacock streaming service available in other regions.

The Peacock streaming service has one free level and two paid levels. Peacock Free is an ad-supported service that will be available to anyone wishing to advertise. Peacock Premium requires you to provide credit card information. However, even if you opt for Peacock Premium, you will still need to decide how much of your hard earned money you are willing to share in order to eliminate the ads.

Peacock free

As mentioned above, Peacock Free users will need to sit through occasional advertising during their bulimia sessions. In addition, Peacock Free users will have limited access to the full range of Peacock content. According to NBCUniversal, Peacock Free will have approximately 7,500 hours of programming available. This will include the full series of classic TV shows and a selection of films, as well as Spanish-language content and sports programs. In addition, Peacock Free will allow users to broadcast episodes of programs being broadcast the day after they are broadcast.

Peacock Premium

Alternatively, Peacock Premium offers subscribers around 15,000 hours of content. This includes all content available via Peacock Free, all original platform programming, and additional sports programming. Peacock Premium subscribers will also have benefits such as not having to get up late to watch late night shows. Peacock Premium gives subscribers access to new episodes of “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” and “The Late Show with Seth Meyers” at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. EST.

By choosing Premium, subscribers will need to decide whether they want an ad-free viewing experience. Peacock Premium offers both a cheaper ad-supported level and a more expensive ad-free level to give subscribers more flexibility. The ad-supported version of Peacock Premium will be $ 4.99 / month. To get rid of the ads completely, the monthly fee goes up to $ 9.99. Xfinity customers will have access to the ad-supported version of Peacock Premium at no additional cost.

What TV shows will be available?

Peacock will be the home of a vast backlog of television programming. This includes everything from the centerpiece of the comedy “Saturday Night Live” to police proceedings like “Law & Order” and even guilty pleasures like “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”. In addition, consumers will have access to the heavyweights of NBC’s “To See TV” programming from previous years. This includes shows like “30 Rock”, “Parks and Recreation” and the American version of “The Office”.

That said, not all of these shows will be available at launch. This is due to the fact that some of these shows are currently licensed on other streaming platforms. For example, “The Office”, which is currently the most popular show on any streaming platform, will not debut with Peacock until January 2021, as Netflix currently has exclusive streaming rights.

Peacock will also house a wide variety of Spanish-language content from Telemundo, owned by NBCUniversal, including telenovelas and popular series. In addition, A&E Networks is said to have licensed some of their A&E and History channel libraries to Peacock. Finally, consumers can expect the latest local and international news coverage with content from MSNBC, CNBC, TODAY, NBC Nightly News, and more. For a full list of shows that will air at launch, see NBCUniversal Press Announcement.

What films will be available?

This is where the universal side of NBCUniversal comes in. NBCUniversal claims that around 600 films produced by Universal Pictures will be available on Peacock. This includes classics led by Spielberg like “Jurassic Park” and “E.T.”, as well as blockbusters like the franchise “Fast and Furious”. Consumers will also have access to a variety of Dreamworks titles, including child-friendly titles like “Shrek”.

What original content will be available?

If you choose Peacock Premium, you will not only have access to all the classic TV shows you know and love, but a multitude of exclusive content as well. NBCUniversal is investing heavily in original content for the Peacock platform. This includes new originals like “Dr. Alec Baldwin Death” and “Brave New World”, a show based on Aldous Huxley’s book of the same name.

Peacock also builds on the strength of nostalgia for viewers. The streaming service will host the restarts of “Saved by the Bell” and “Punky Brewster”. In addition, the science fiction classic “Battlestar Galactica” receives restart processing, orchestrated by “Mr. Robot Creator, Sam Esmail. In addition, Peacock uses heavyweights in the comedy world to develop new shows Mindy Kaling, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey all have series in the works.

What sports programming will be available?

NBCUniversal also catches sports enthusiasts with Peacock. In addition to exclusive TV shows, classic series and blockbuster movies, Peacock will be the home of NBC Sports content streaming. This includes non-televised Premier League games as well as extensive Ryder Cup coverage. Certainly, in these unprecedented times, the Sports branch of Peacock’s arsenal will certainly not fire on all cylinders. That being said, when sports resume their usual activity, Peacock will be a big draw.

Peacock is one of several streaming services launched in 2020. This group includes the abbreviated service Quibi. For users outside of the U.S., you’ll need to stick with Netflix or Disney Plus or these free streaming sites to watch free movies.